RTA officials mark 10th Anniversary of HealthLine service

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CLEVELAND – The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) officials and civic leaders celebrated 10 years of service along the HealthLine today at a ceremony at the Louis Stokes Station at Windermere.

The HealthLine is the region’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service and connects the two largest regional employment areas, Downtown and University Circle, extending along Euclid Avenue between Public Square to the Louis Stokes Station at Windermere in East Cleveland. It was named the “Best BRT in the Nation” in 2013.

“The HealthLine is responsible for a total of $9.5 billion in economic development along Euclid Avenue. Of that amount, $7 billion has already been constructed, $1 billion is in progress, and another $1.5 billion is slated for future development on Euclid,” said Floun’say Caver, RTA Interim CEO/General Manager.

The highest return on investment of any public transit project in the nation

In 2013, the Institute for Transportation Development Policy reported that the HealthLine delivered more than $114 for every transit dollar spent on the project. “Today, RTA estimates we are realizing $190 for every transit dollar invested. That’s the highest return on investment of any public transit project in the nation,” Caver said.

“The transformation on Euclid Avenue has been remarkable,” Caver said. “Developers saw that the project called for a $110 million investment in permanent infrastructure improvements, and that served as the catalyst they needed to pour real dollars into real estate, projects and improvements like Cleveland has never seen.”

Some of the infrastructure improvements to Euclid Avenue that occurred in conjunction with the building of the HealthLine included new gas lines, water lines, electrical grids, fiber optics, streetscapes, paving, storm sewers, sidewalks, roads, traffic signals, street lights, cameras, and emergency blue light phones.

A combination of local, state and federal dollars contributed to the funding of the $200 million project.

“As the project took shape, developers along Euclid Avenue actually changed their master plans to incorporate the HealthLine and its related infrastructure improvements and turned their entrances to face Euclid Avenue,” Caver explained.

“Today, we all can see the transformation on Euclid Avenue continue every day,” he said.

Some of the projects supported by and resulting from the HealthLine investment include: